Wild photos and the tales they tell

Scratch alert

What’s your favourite itch?

I used to think that wildlife started itching and scratching in a devious attempt to ruin my photos. After watching this behavior for some time, I have come to the insightful conclusion that they are itchy. Then I realized it’s actually amusing to watch.

I have gathered a few of my favourite itching photos for your viewing pleasure. Which one scratches your itch?

One word of caution. If you look at the photos too long, random parts of your body may get itchy.

It’s important to have a good location to scratch. This log worked pretty well.

The power of suggestion. What are the odds they would both get itchy at the same time?

Even cooler weather didn’t stop the annoying itch.

Sometimes the itch is in tricky places.

Some creatures just look good no matter what they are doing.

Just to prove that birds aren’t the only ones who have hard to reach itches …

As a biologist interested in parasites, I can just see some smaller creatures crawling around under the feathers/fur of these bigger animals… I bet the birds in these photos aren’t only scratching and itch, but also trying to find the parasites and bite them off. Cute, huh?

Okay this is why I follow your blog. You think of the most interesting and funny variations on wildlife. I think a lot of the time animals (especially birds) are going after specific parasites. It seems they would rather eat the thing than have it doing its thing somewhere on their body.

I’m glad you find my different perspectives on wildlife amusing. They do so many unusual things, sometimes it’s hard to keep up. The parasites can really be nuisance – I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that all the time!

This post brings a smile on a number of levels, Lyle. The laughter at your interpretation, the awe at how beautiful the creatures are, and the gratitude that you have such a talent to capture those creatures on… film? Pixels?

Wow, what a wonderful set of gorgeous images. Are these all male creatures? Human males have the reputation for scratching itches in public places and I wondered if that carried over to the animal world. By the way, I have the perfect song to serve as background music if you convert this to a slide show. it’s a rock-and-roll song from 1967 done by The Small Faces entitled “Itchycoo Park. If you are not familiar with it, check out this version on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGEgRnvFzLY). The repeated chorus of “It’s all too beautiful” could equally well apply to your photos.

Thanks for the comments. In my wildlife watching, it seems the itching is an equal opportunity activity for both genders. I’m actually surprised how much it happens – maybe they are just bored. As the for song, it’s been a long time since I heard that one.

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